Buying a Cell Phone, Contracts, and Pay as you go Plans

Updated on January 30, 2012

Cell Phone Contracts

When looking for a new cell phone company to join, it can be an extremely daunting task. After just a couple of inquiries you can feel at a loss for what to do next. I have personally just went through this ordeal and I hope to make it a little easier and less stressful for others.

First of all, you have to decide whether you want to sign a contract for a year or two or not. The benifit of signing a contract, especially a two year contract is many companies will offer you free or drastically reduced priced cell phones, even for Smart phones and Android phones. If you do not sign a contract, these phones start at about $200 and go up to over $500.

free smartphones

Free Cell Phones

If you decide to go this route, you just have to find the company that offers the plan you want within the price range you want. This sounds easy, but can become tiresome very quickly. Don't get "sucked" into adding features onto your plan that you don't need.

The company I found that offers the best contract pricing is T-Mobile (online.) You can go right onto their website and look at the plans you want and also look at the phones that are being offered as "free." You just add the plan and phone to your cart and you get it within a couple days shipped free. If you do have any questions a box will pop up and you can chat with a representative and they can answer any questions you have. Also, you have 20 days to check out your phones, use them, and if you're not happy with them you can exchange your phone two times. You can also cancel the contract with those 20 days if you change your mind

free android phone

Pay as you go Phones

If you are looking for a cell phone where you don't have to sign any contracts than most cell phone companies offer this choice for about $50 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. This is a great way to go, BUT you have to pay for your phone outright. This can get costly depending upon what type of phone you want.

Some of these plans will require Smart phones to be able to use their service. If you plan on getting one of these pay as you go services expect to pay at least around $200 (to start) for your phone.

You also want to make sure that you get coverage in your area BEFORE purchasing a phone.